Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Intimate partner violence incident suspect dies during GSPS arrest
Although it is unclear what happened, Greater Sudbury Police say a suspect died while being arrested this morning. GSPS said officers were dispatched to a residence on Keith Avenue in Chelmsford at 10:40 a.m. on Jan. 2 in regards to an intimate partner violence incident. The release states officers “made entry” into the residence upon arrival “to ensure the safety of those involved.” “Upon affecting the arrest, the individual became unresponsive, and officers began life-saving measures with the assistance of City of Greater Sudbury Paramedics,” GSPS said in a news release. “Unfortunately, the individual was pronounced deceased on scene.” Because the person was in police custody at the time of their death, the Special Investigations Unit has been called in to investigate the circumstances of the death.
Former Ledo Hotel building coming down beginning Jan. 8
The demolition of the former Ledo Hotel building at 300 Elgin St. is scheduled to begin on Jan. 8 and take four weeks to complete, according to a City of Greater Sudbury media release. The city purchased the long-vacant building along with the entire triangular block it’s located, and much of the block to its immediate north last year as part of an arena/events centre project, whether it’s the building itself or shoring up land for ancillary services. Wacky Wings was the only holdout, and the city is currently going through an expropriation process to secure this missing piece to the puzzle. Excluding Wacky Wings, the cost to purchase the properties has been $12.5 million to date. All of the buildings are slated to be demolished.
Afro Women and Youth foundation opens food and clothing bank
A local charity focused on the well-being of Black women and youth in Sudbury is opening a food and clothing bank. The Afro Women and Youth Foundation (AWYF) is a non-profit organization providing leadership, empowerment and mentorship programs for Black women and youth. This year, with the support of Sudbury Credit Union, the foundation was able to bring holiday food baskets to 20 Black newcomer women in Sudbury. In a release, executive director Adebola Adefioye said the move is in response to expressions of need. “Our clothing and food bank program was created to respond to the needs of Black newcomers in our community,” she said. “We are now accepting donations of non-perishable food items, new or gently used clothes, winter jackets, shoes, winter boots, hygiene products, etc.”
Sudbury teen excited to suit up for Youth Olympic hockey team
A Sudbury hockey player has been selected to join Canada's men's hockey team for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, being held in South Korea, in the New Year. The games will take place toward the end of January. Mateo Beites is a 15-year-old goaltender who said he is feeling fit and ready for the international action, but admitted he didn’t expect the call. “At first I thought it was a dream for a second. And then I woke up and I'm like, ‘Holy crap! This is real! Gotta get ready’,” he said. Beites was formerly a member of the U14 AAA Nickel City Sons. In 2022, he was a member of Sudbury Wolves U16 AAA in the Great North Midget League. Beites moved in the fall of 2023 to become part of the Junior Colts in Barrie. It was just before Christmas that Hockey Canada revealed that Beites would be joining the youth Olympic Games roster, part of a group of eight players from the Ontario Hockey Federation. Beites said he was pleased with the call up and added he is feeling ready for it.
Frontier shows positive results from summer exploration program
Sudbury's Frontier Lithium (TSXV: FL) has released positive results from its summer of 2023 prospecting and channel sampling program at the Pennock pegamatite property located northwest of the company's Spark Deposit in Northwestern Ontario. The spodumene-bearing Pennock Pegmatite is a 1.5 km long pegmatitic dyke trend that was first channeled in 2019 with 16m averaging 1.96 per cent Li2O, said the Frontier news release. Garth Denver, Frontier's vice-president of exploration, said he was pleased with the update. "This was our first opportunity to validate the spodumene-bearing Pennock dyke beyond the ‘blowout’ area with continuous channeling across the dykes. They tend to be extensive, continuous and contain high grades of lithium oxide," said Drever. "Despite being narrow at surface with widths less than six metres and requiring additional channeling and mapping prior to any drill testing, we are excited about the potential discovery upside outside of the project's mining lease area," he added.
Pursuit: Meet champion puller Jocelyne Brisson and her golden arm
The “pull” of strength sports was all-too-natural for Jocelyne Brisson. A bronze medal-winning shot putter during her time at Collège Notre-Dame, the 32-year-old Sudbury product migrated seamlessly towards the weights and such as the tinge of early adulthood physical fitness re-engagement drifted her way a few years back. Stationed in Red Lake — population 4,094 — as a teacher in her mid to late twenties, Brisson found comfort in muscle development, partaking in at least a couple of different forms of that training, as fate would have it. “One of my colleagues from a school I was teaching at was a bodybuilder, her husband a trainer,” recalled the eldest of four girls in the family. “They took the time to introduce me to the lifting world and how to do it properly.” A subsequent move to Dryden would feature a slight alteration to her workouts.
